Wellington Wows As Gollum Returns To Middle Of Middle Earth

Fancy eating your food under Gollum’s giant swooping hand as he tries to reach for Sweet Tasty Fishes? Ordinarily we would say no, but we are in love with this amazing 13 metre long installation of perhaps the most famous of the Lord of The Rings characters. Gollum returns to Wellington Airport this year, no doubt to tie in with the launch of The Hobbit gracing our screens in the next few weeks.

Designed by Weta Workshop NZ, Wellington was chosen as the airport due to its proximity to many of the filming locations used by the Lord of The Rings franchise. Wellington has actually already seen Gollum before, he was searching for the ring outside one of the airports gates, also with a sign stating “Welcome to the Middle of Middle Earth”. This second installation however can be seen by all in the terminal, and he would be hard to miss. Weighing in at 1.2 tons, made purely of polystyrene and finished in epoxy resin, this massive installation had to be made in 9 pieces just to fit through the door of the terminal. To put it into perspective, each of the fish are 4 metres long.

Richard Taylor, creative lead at Weta Workshop, who was overseeing the project said, “we have had a long and wonderful relationship with the Wellington Airport team, who continually focus on presenting an exciting gateway into our city. We are thrilled to once again be creating something with Wellington Airport that will bring delight to the many visitors coming to our fabulous city.” Steve Sanderson, Wellington Airport’s Chief Executive told us on the new sculpture “As the first and last impression to our region, the Airport is proud to work with Weta and have this magnificent sculpture on display for all to see. Everyone will be amazed when they enter the terminal. Visitors can walk under and around Gollum and the fish to explore the sculpture’s beauty and intricate detail; it really does feel like you’re in the stream with him,”

Check out the video below for a look at how this beast was brought to life! One thing is for sure, Wellington Airport has never been more appealing a destination to us!